six girls & their trip revolving around food.

About six months ago, a group of friends and I were sitting around eating gelato talking about how awesome it would be to go on a trip with no kids, no responsibilities, and no diapers to change!   Since I a) don't have any kids, and b) love to explore new places, I was gung-ho from the beginning about going on a girls trip!  We threw around a couple of close-by places and settled on Memphis because none of us had ever been there before.

Fast forward half a year and the six of us were on our way to Memphis!

Our first stop was this little hole-in-the-wall place where we had the best ribs ever and met the nicest little, old lady.

After checking into our hotel and letting our food settle for a little bit, we decided to hunt around downtown for some dessert and checked out Beale Street which was definitely hopping!

That night I guess some drunk/high people were trying to get into our hotel room through the joining door from 3am to 5am and were super loud, but...I slept through it and only woke up once for a second.  Heavy sleeping for the win!  After a long night (for everyone else), we started off the morning with some doughnuts - and I definitely wouldn't recommend the maple bacon ones unless you looooooove bacon. :)

We drove around and found the high school from The Blind Side, and then decided to head over to see the home of "The King"--yes, Elvis' home, haha!  In the background of the picture directly below, you can see the mansion Elvis bought when he was 22.  Not bad for 1957 standards...or 2014. ;)  The rock wall in front of the property is covered in writing and drawings and all kinds of entertainment.  We didn't add our names to the wall, but we should have!

Afterwards, we checked out the Nation Civil Rights Museum which is located at the motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.  The place undeniably had a reverent feel to it, and it was definitely an experience to see the place where such a poignant event in history occurred.

Before heading out of town, we stopped to try some Southern fried chicken which we had heard good things about, and oh my goodness, it was amazing!  The perfect amount of spice and crispy skin. ;)  Although there was quite a long wait, we didn't mind standing around outside in the fabulous 60+ degree weather and soaking up some sun for the first time in months!

The nice thing about there being six of us, was that we usually ordered a "family" meal and split it between all of us.  Two thumbs up for sharing, and by doing so, being able to try lots of new places/food. ;)  Unfortunately, now that we're back, I still have the travel bug and I can't wait to go somewhere new!

Who wants to go to Nashville?!

a valentine's day themed "favorite things party."

*Note: I'm just going to apologize for the number of pictures beforehand.  Sorry!

I love parties.  You know that emoji with the two heart eyes?  That's how much I love planning parties, hosting parties, and going to parties!

My friend, Lauren, and I have been wanting to throw a "favorite things party" and invite a bunch of our friends, and with Valentine's Day coming up, we knew it'd be the perfect opportunity.

Here's how our "favorite things party" worked:  

1)  Everyone picked something that they love that cost between $1-$5 and they brought three of that item.    

2)  Upon arrival, everyone wrote their name on three slips of paper.

3)  When the time came, we went around in a circle and showed everyone our item, described why it's our favorite, and drew three slips of paper.

4)  The people whose names were read got to go home with that item.

Basically, you bring three of the same item and go home with three different items!

After deciding on a date, I began scouring the internet for some party inspiration and decided to base the feel of our party around this cute invite from Tiny Prints.  The mix of bright and light pink and the cute striped pattern on the back caught my attention, and wanted to incorporate them into the party somehow.  I customized the invite so that instead of adding photos to the card, I added different squares of pink that we used for a game.

Here's how our "favorite things" game worked:

1)  Since there were four empty pink squares, we asked four random questions.

(Favorite actor or actress, favorite movie, favorite vacation spot, and favorite jellybean flavor.)

2)  Everyone filled out their card without showing their neighbors.

3)  I collected the cards and read something off of a card.

4)  Everyone had to pick three people from the group who it could be.

("This person's favorite spot they've vacationed is...Paris.")

5)  I'd throw a small treat to everyone who guessed the right person.

It was so much fun to get to know other people's favorite things!

I'll admit... my favorite thing about parties (besides friends) has to be the food!  Nothing beats enjoying some treats and chatting with some of your favorite people. :)  I definitely begged my awesome friend to make her fabulous White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake (you can find the recipe here!).

I also customized these address labels from Tiny Prints to make a "thank you" tag for little gift bags.  To be completely honest, I had a lot of fun looking through all of the different fonts and came up with quite a few variations that I loved.

I'm already itching for another "favorite things party" and it hasn't even been a full 3 days since this one!  I just love hearing about new products that people adore, and I love getting to know new things about friends. :)

invitations (used as a game):  Tiny Prints c/o

address labels (used as a "thank you"):  Tiny Prints c/o

black & white striped table runner:  Floratouch

pink chevron paper straws:  SweetCarnival

white & black polka dot paper straws:  PetuniaCrafts

white platter:  World Market

red cake stand:  World Market

pink cake stand:  Michaels - painted it pink myself

a Christmas cookie exchange.

Dinner and a cookie exchange with friends during the holiday season?  Too perfect, I tell you.  These ladies came over with plates of brownies, and cookies, and toffee, oh my!  (I have 3-4 dozen leftover cookies/treats sitting at home in ziplock bags on my kitchen counter, if anyone's interested??) 

I just love Christmas, and cookies, and these fabulous friends of mine.

summer night get-togethers.

Earlier this week we had a farewell get-together in the park for our friends who are ditching Missouri for Colorado. ;) We're so happy for them, and will miss them so much!  The weather was lovely, the company was fabulous, and the pavilion was definitely unique, haha.

Happy Friday, friends!

I'll be spending my weekend at the pool, reading and soaking up some sun.  :)